A woman looks at the wall outside her house riddled with bullet holes during a police operation. About 400 officers invaded the Favela da Grota in Complexo do Alemao, confiscating assault riffles, machine guns, grenades, cocaine, cannabis and crack

A BOPE unit, the elite special forces of the military police stands guard during the operation in Favela da Grota. BOPE is a small group of well-trained officers infamous for their brutality. They are renowned for not carrying handcuffs

Tourists photograph Rio de Janeiro from Sugarloaf mountain, one of the city's most popular tourist spots, famed for its views. Tourists and middle-class locals are the biggest drug consumers (mostly marijuana and cocaine) in the city